The AirCraft Owners and Pilots Association Features ASSUREuas Research: Getting UAS Up There

September 22, 2015

Proponents say the market for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) will be huge and promises to change the way people live. First, say other airspace users and regulators, drones must be integrated into an existing air traffic control system that was not created with pilotless aircraft in mind.

Accomplishing that task safely, without elbowing existing users out of the way, is the goal of ever more research taking place across the United States and elsewhere. Many of the institutions that are emerging as leaders of UAS integration research came together Sept. 15 at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi, to set a collective agenda as members of an organization known as the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE).

David Shaw, Mississippi State University's vice president for research and economic development, said "Our best days are just starting," in a news release about the gathering of researchers, regulators, and industry members.